


sorrow will be gone soon

by vatonages



Category: NCT (Band), SM Rookies
Genre: Gen, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, donghyuk is in love with mark, mark is graduating high school
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-10-19 22:34:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10649436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vatonages/pseuds/vatonages
Summary: He’s always been such a busybody. Donghyuk isn’t even sure how he got Mark to give weed a try, but then Mark has always said he was good at things like that. His cheeks grow warm at the memory of the praise and the sunlight feels like a thousand gentle kisses as it starts to fade into night.





	sorrow will be gone soon

Mark inhales and it’s terrible. He coughs, sputters while Donghyuk laughs. His mouth tastes terrible.

 

“You need to hold it in your lungs. You keep sucking it in and holding it in your cheeks.” Mark coughs again, dry and rough. He has his finger pointed at Donghyuk like he’s ready to argue, but the dryness of his throat keeps him from getting out the words. The way his eyes are wide with slight fury makes Donghyuk laugh. He’s always been such a busybody. Donghyuk isn’t even sure how he got Mark to give weed a try, but then Mark has always said he was good at things like that. His cheeks grow warm at the memory of the praise and the sunlight feels like a thousand gentle kisses as it starts to fade into night. 

 

“I swear to god, I’m doing exactly what you’re telling me to.” Donghyuk smiles, flicks the ash off the end of the joint. It’s gone out, so he relights it. 

 

“We can always try again. We have all the time...all the time in the world.” He takes a long drag, the picture of relaxation. He exhales, and the easy way the smoke falls out of his mouth is somewhat hypnotizing. Donghyuk tilts his head back, enjoying how he feels, warm and a little unreal. Mark notices the way his jawline has gotten sharper with puberty, with age, and wonders how he never noticed before.

 

Maybe it’s the silence that makes him honest, or maybe it’s the weed, but Donghyuk stares at Mark for a minute before he finally asks the million dollar question. 

 

“What am I going to do when you leave?” The suddenness of the question catches Mark by surprise, but it doesn’t hit him the way it hits Donghyuk, suddenly feeling not high at all and incredibly too real, stifled by his own existence, his high snuffed out like a candle.

 

“What you always did before you met me. There was a time when we didn’t know each other, you know.”

 

“Yeah,” he says. He’s not making eye contact. “I know that that’s true, but I really can’t remember it.” Mark scoffs.

 

“Come on, Donghyuk. Don’t be dramatic.” And what’s sad is that Donghyuk has been heartbreakingly subtle this entire time, just to keep himself from getting hurt. Mark watches wordlessly as Donghyuk takes a long drag off his joint, holds it for a second, and exhales slow and tired like he’s had a tough day at work. He rubs at his temples.

 

“I’m serious.” Donghyuk says. His voice is smaller than Mark has ever heard it and his expression softens. He sits down next to Donghyuk and puts an arm around his shoulders, looks into the warm sky that makes empty promises. 

 

“Hyukie, you’ll be okay.” He’s using his  _ hyung voice  _ now _ ,  _ the one he uses when he wants to comfort people. It’s convincing for a little while, makes you think he has it all figured out and knows exactly what to do. The surge of comfort Donghyuk receives, even now, even knowing the truth, makes him feel like an idiot. He feels a little wronged that he’s just another  _ dongsaeng _ to Mark, another person to take care of. God knows he’s so busy all the time, is responsible for so many people, but it’s not Donghyuk’s fault that he’s  _ good  _ at it. 

 

Donghyuk remembers sharing watermelon with Mark, the juice dripping down the side of his tan  hand, licking it off and laughing, and feels like an idiot. He briefly recalls feeling like everything was okay, like maybe he had a chance at love with Mark if he just didn’t bring it up, if he just let things run their course. The air had been so sweet in Paju and he had been a fool, intoxicated by the feeling of summer.

 

The one year of age difference between them falls like a blanket on him and he feels more secure than he should with Mark’s hand on his shoulder. Why is he always so kind anyway? Didn’t he ever get sick of it? No. No, he thought, because it wasn’t an act that Mark put on. It was just the way he was, easy like breathing, and nothing, nothing like saying goodbye. 

 

“I’ll come back all the time. I’ve got a whole family here. You and Jeno, Jaemin, Renjun, Chenle, and Jisungie. I can’t just leave you all behind. You’ll be trailing right behind me anyways. You’re just a year below me, and you know I’ll be there for your graduation ceremony.” Donghyuk can’t help the single tear that slides down his cheek, still full and squishy with youth. Mark slides his thumb across his cheek and wipes it away.

 

“Donghyuk, I’ve only seen you cry a handful of times as long as I’ve known you. Don’t let me be the reason you cry. It’s hardly goodbye forever. It’s like a vacation.” Donghyuk doesn’t know why he lets himself ask, because he’s going to get the answer he wants no matter what the truth is.

 

“Do you promise to come back?” Mark laughs and the wind comes and carries the sound away. It’s so much darker out now. Donghyuk hadn’t realized.

 

“Of course!” he says, smiling so brightly, his happiness so contagious it almost tricks Donghyuk’s downturned mouth into grinning. “I could never leave you behind. We’ve been through so much together.” He stares at Donghyuk’s face for a moment, like he’s studying it so he won’t forget the subtleties of his features, and Donghyuk lets him, unsure of what’s really happening. Mark hesitates for a millisecond, then surges forward to plant a kiss on his cheek. 

 

It’s not the love filled kiss in the sunset Donghyuk has dreamed of, but he already knows it’s going to be up there with his favorite memories. Mark pulls away, a little embarrassed, and then he hugs Donghyuk, who wraps his arms around Mark’s frame with a bit too much enthusiasm, just happy to love and be loved, even if it’s not in the way he planned. With the ice broken, Donghyuk kisses Mark’s cheek, pressing hard, and because he’s Donghyuk, he makes sure there’s a hideous smooching noise. Mark laughs and then whines.

 

“Donghyuk! Seriously!” He wipes the spit off his cheek with his sleeve and Donghyuk is laughing and laughing, and when he looks up the moon is laughing with them too.


End file.
